[03/26/13 - 11:16 AM]Nickelodeon Marks Winning Week with 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards and Strongest Gains of the YearNickelodeon spins the numbers for the week of March 18-24.

[via press release from Nickelodeon]

NICKELODEON MARKS WINNING WEEK WITH 26TH ANNUAL KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS AND STRONGEST GAINS OF THE YEAR

Star-Studded Live Telecast is Week's Top Program with Kids and Tweens, Reaches More Than 12 Million Viewers, Sets New Voting Record with 392 Million Votes Cast Globally

NEW YORK - March 26, 2013 - Fueled by a week of surging ratings and a winning performance from its 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, Nickelodeon posted double-digit gains with its core demo and closed the week (3/18/13-324/13), its highest-rated of the year, as the top cable net with kids 2-11 (3.1/1.0 million; +24%) and total viewers (2.0 million; +27%). Quarter to date, the network has been posting steady gains and is up over last year with both kids 2-11 (2.9/971,000; +7%) and total viewers (1.9 million; +6%).

Nickelodeon's 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards was a slime-tastic extravaganza watched by more than 12 million total viewers over the weekend. Hosted by Josh Duhamel, Saturday night's live premiere (March 23, 8-9:30 p.m.; all times ET/PT) drew 5.8 million total viewers and ranks as the top telecast of the week (3/18-3/24) with kids and tweens across all TV, averaging an 8.0/2.7 million K2-11, 10.0/2.0 million K6-11 and 9.5/1.9 million T9-14. The show also aired on Sunday, March 24 at 12 p.m. and averaged a 3.5/1.1 million K2-11 and drew 2.5 million total viewers, followed by an evening airing (9 p.m.) that scored a 2.2/718,000 K2-11 and 1.5 million total viewers.

Kids tuned into Nickelodeon in droves overall on Saturday, March 23. The day delivered an extraordinary 4.6 rating with Kids 2-11, up +52% versus the same day last year. Among Kids 6-11, Nick averaged a 4.9 for the day this, up +40% versus last year. Ratings were powered by a combo of SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents movies, including The Fairly OddParents: Fairly OddPet (7:30 p.m.), which ranks as the number-two telecast for the week with kids and drew 3.9 million total viewers.

Kids paid tribute to their favorites by casting a record-breaking 392 million votes Feb. 14 - March 23 in 22 categories (including live voting during the Orange Carpet Preshow). In addition to the Kids' Choice Awards website on Nick.com, families were able to vote via the Nick mobile website (m.nick.com) and through a KCA app for the iPad. Fans were also able to vote for their favorite stars using a Facebook application on the Nickelodeon Facebook page. Users voted from a tab on the page and, for the first time ever, the entire voting experience could be embedded directly into Facebook wall posts. Also new this year, fans were able to vote for their favorite nominees on Twitter through the use of custom hash tags and SMS subscribers could vote on a category per day for the three weeks leading up to the event.

Internationally, the 2013 KCAs has delivered strong preliminary results across the board. This year's show was the highest-rated ever among kids in many of the international markets Nickelodeon has analyzed to date, including the UK (+43%), Germany (+3%) and the Netherlands (+5%). The KCAs also was the number-one show in its time slot among kids' channels in Poland. This year, Nickelodeon extended voting for the KCAs to more countries and categories than ever before, drawing a record-breaking total votes from fans outside the U.S. (more than 148 million votes!) - an impressive +284% increase from last year's international total of 39 million.

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).